Richard Howell & Sudden Changes at Yerba Buena Gardens Festival at Yerba Buena Gardens

Aptly described by KQED as a jazz “Jedi master,” tenor saxophonist Richard Howell is a Bay Area treasure who has come into his own as a bandleader after decades of producing and supporting other artists. His latest album Burkina was named one of the best recordings of 2016 by The Mercury News, and he performs with the same stellar cast, including Howell’s 18-year-old son Elé Howell, a rapidly rising drummer based in New York, virtuosic pianist Frederick Harris, veteran bassist Heshima Mark Williams, and scorching alto saxophonist Charles McNeal. Raised in Los Angeles, Howell made his Bay Area jazz debut in the early 1980s with a triumvirate of legends, joining trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins at the Great American Music Hall...

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Aptly described by KQED as a jazz “Jedi master,” tenor saxophonist Richard Howell is a Bay Area treasure who has come into his own as a bandleader after decades of producing and supporting other artists. His latest album Burkina was named one of the best recordings of 2016 by The Mercury News, and he performs with the same stellar cast, including Howell’s 18-year-old son Elé Howell, a rapidly rising drummer based in New York, virtuosic pianist Frederick Harris, veteran bassist Heshima Mark Williams, and scorching alto saxophonist Charles McNeal. Raised in Los Angeles, Howell made his Bay Area jazz debut in the early 1980s with a triumvirate of legends, joining trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins at the Great American Music Hall. He spent years touring with R&B greats Etta James and Chaka Khan, and the music of Sudden Changes reflects all of these experiences.

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